1 68 



The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



that year at Lexington, where she again low- 

 ered the record, this time to 2:09 1-4. In 

 1885 she made but two public starts, the first 

 of which was at Cleveland, where she lowered 

 the record — the seventh time she "beat the 

 world" — to 2 :o8 3-4. Maud S. was repeatedly 

 bred, but failed to get with foal. After her 

 death, in March, 1900, a post-mortem ex- 

 amination revealed the fact that, owing to 

 uterine malformation, conception by her was 

 an impossibility. 



Sunol, bred at Palo Alto Farm in Califor- 

 nia, was foaled in 1886. In 1891, against time. 

 at Stockton, Cal., she made her record of 

 2:08 1-4. This made her the youngest trotter 

 that ever held the world's championship. Mr. 

 Bonner paid $41,000 for her, when a three- 

 year-old, in 1889, but at his death she had 

 never been bred. She then passed to John H. 

 Shults, and produced two foals. Later she 

 passed to A. B. Coxe, Paoli, Pa., and May 5, 

 1909, breathed her last, aged twenty-three. 



Nancy Hanks, foaled 1886, was the first 

 champion to have the advantage of the bike 

 sulky. At Chicago, in August, 1892, hooked 

 to the new styled vehicle, she trotted in 

 2:07 1-4, a new world's record, and the same 

 month was at Independence, where she beat 

 that record two seconds. A month after 

 she was at the "four-cornered" track at Terre 

 Haute, where she put the high water mark at 

 2:04. In 1893 she passed to the late J. Mal- 

 colm Forbes, owner of the Forbes Farm, 

 Ponkapoag, Mass. Of all the world's cham- 

 pions, Nancy Hanks has done the most for the 

 perpetuation and progress of the trotting 

 type. She died the property of Edward and 

 Joseph Madden, Hamburg Place, Lexington, 

 Ivy. 



Nancy Hanks was succeeded by Alix, 

 2:03 3-4, who, in 1894, reduced the world's 

 record by a quarter-second. Alix was a bay, 

 foaled 1888. September 6, 1894, at Indian- 

 apolis, she started against the 2 104 of Nancy 

 Hanks, and trotted in 2:04 3-4, which she cut 

 the next week at Terre Haute to 2 104. Next, 

 at Galesburg, she tried again, and measured 

 the mile in 2 103 3-4. This mile earned her the 

 coveted championship position, and although 

 she tried repeatedly the remainder of that sea- 

 son and in 1895 to do better, the efforts were 

 fruitless. In 1898 Alix was sold by the late 

 Morris J. Jones to F. C. Sayles, of Pawtucket, 

 R. I. Alix died < tctober 19, 1901, aged thir- 

 teen years, one of the shortest lived of all the 

 trotting champions. 



The successor of Alix was The Abbott, 

 when once more a gelding "led all the rest." 

 However, his reign was brief. The Abbott 

 was a bay, foaled [893 at Village Farm. The 



year 1900, his initial start was August 22, at 

 Readville, to beat 2:06 1-4, which he did in 

 2 105 3-4. August 30, at Providence, he trot- 

 ted in 2 104 3-4, and September 6 was at Hart- 

 ford, where he started to beat the wagon 

 record of 2:09 1-4, and won in 2:05 1-4. The 

 following week, at New York, he went against 

 2 .-04 3-4, and trotted in 2 104. The Abbott 

 was then shipped West, starting at Terre 

 Haute against 2:04, trotting in 2:03 1-4, 

 which lowered Alix's record. The Abbott 

 died February 19, 1904, the property of J. I. 

 Scannell, Peekskill, N. Y. 



Cresceus was the first, and is still, the only 

 stallion to hold the world's trotting record. 

 He was foaled in 1894. The close of 1900 

 found him with a record of 2 104. He had 

 twelve starts that year, the majority being 

 against the watch. The stallion in 1901 was 

 regarded as the strongest claimant to the trot- 

 ting throne, and when the Grand Circuit con- 

 tingent reached Columbus, after having first 

 touched 2 :o2 3-4 at Cleveland, Cresceus trot- 

 ted in 2:02 1-4. From 1901 to 1903 he was 

 carried all over the country as an exhibition 

 horse by his breeder and owner, George H. 

 Ketcham, of Toledo, O., who, in 1905, sold 

 him to M. \Y. Savage, owner of Dan Patch, 

 who in turn sold him to Capt. Tchmertzin, of 

 St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1908. Cresceus is 

 the only world's champion trotter ever ex- 

 ported to Europe. 



Lou Dillon, 1 :^S 1-2, Sidney Dillon's 

 daughter, a chestnut, was foaled in 1898. Of 

 all the world's champions, none had a briefer 

 or more meteoric career. She was bred in 

 California, where she was educated and first 

 trained. The news of her remarkably fast 

 workouts led to her sale to C. K. G. Billings, 

 in May, 1903, and July 4, 1903, Lou started 

 on her unprecedented public career at Cleve- 

 land. Unlike preceding champions, she did 

 not work her way up from the ranks. To the 

 contrary, she was a born star, and her maiden 

 start was against the 2:03 3-4 of Alix, hut 

 she failed to beat it, trotting in 2:04 1-4; bu 

 the week after she accomplished the task, 

 trotting in 2:03 1-2, which again, on July 31. 

 she reduced to 2:02 3-4. She tried to beat 

 this mark next at Brighton Beach, and failed. 

 The next week she was at Readville. where 

 she trotted in 2 :oo. Going West, she started at 

 Cleveland, in September, to beat Maud S.'s 

 2 :o8 3-4 to high-wheel sulky, and the mile wa - 

 in 2:05. In October she was at Lexington, 

 starting against 2 104 3-4 to wagon, and placed 

 the record at that hitch at 2:01 3-4. Her next 

 start was at Memphis, where she beat Major 

 Delmar for the Gold Cup. trotting the two 

 heats, each to wagon, in 2 104 3-4. I ler great 



